Our View: Expand state FOIA law

It is time to shine a light on state government and make the governor’s office subject to the state’s Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA.

The issue of government transparency has been elevated by the Flint water crisis. Gov. Rick Snyder’s office is currently exempt from FOIA requests, which allow the public to request information such as budgets, reports, emails and other public documents.

Advocates called for Snyder to release information his office had about the Flint water situation, and Snyder eventually said he released all emails he sent and received in 2014 and 2015 related to Flint water. If his office was subject to FOIA requests, there would be no need to publicly pressure the governor to voluntarily release the information — it would happen through the typical process citizens, advocacy groups and journalists use to gain this information from other government sources: a FOIA request.

This access to information is available at the city and county level of government. In fact, according to the state attorney general’s office, there are more than 10,000 public bodies in the State of Michigan subject to FOIA. But, not the governor’s office.

Earlier this year, legislators began working on bills to expand the FOIA to cover state legislators and the governor’s office.

Today starts Sunshine Week, a national celebration of access to public information, and it is a great time to encourage our lawmakers to review our right to information and pass this important oversight over government.

You can find out more about Sunshine Week, which is led by the American Society of News Editors and Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, at http://www.sunshineweek.org.